Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022 - 20

20 * Plastics News, October 19, 2022
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Plastics with a positive perspective
By Karen Laird
Sustainable Plastics
Positive Plastics may sound
like a contradiction in terms today,
but it's the name of an initiative
launched last year by
three materials experts who are
seeking to provide designers and
engineers with reliable, trusted
information about alternatives to
fossil-based plastics.
Positive Plastics is at K 2022
with a newly updated sample
kit, which can be seen - and
touched - at the booths of various
participating manufacturers.
The three members of the
Positive Plastics team - Efrat
Friedland, Erik Moth-Müller and
Markus Paloheimo, all consultants
and educators in the materials
and polymers fi eld - were
'extremely overwhelmed' by the
response to their fi rst sample kit,
launched at last year's Fakuma.
" In fact, what we very often
hear is that this is the right kit
at the right time, " said Friedland.
For designers, it is very diffi cult
to get the information they need
about alternatives to fossil-based
polymers, she explained.
" Not only do they lack the time
to research such materials, but
they also very often lack the connections
to the manufacturers,
and they have to navigate between
a lot of greenwashing. Positive
Plastics caters for those who
are looking for a valid, commercially
available, injection moldable
polymer with a reduced environmental
footprint, " she said.
The sample kit developed by
Positive Plastics consists of a
number of square-shaped samples
with 13-14 different mechanical
properties, such as an internal
hinge, corners, stress points,
different wall thicknesses and
different surface treatments. The
focus is on injection moldable
plastic materials with a reduced
environmental footprint: PCR,
PIR, bio-based,
bio-composite
and mass-balanced plastics from
various manufacturers. Each
sample shows how the material
in question behaves under different
conditions, its properties
and potential applications - essential
information for designers
tasked with selecting the material
for a particular product.
Designers, however, are not
the only ones who have benefi ted.
Materials producers have, in
the past, also found it very diffi -
cult to reach designers. By participating
in the Positive Plastics
platform, they gain a direct line
of communications with the designers
working in the industry.
" They have understood that,
today, they must offer alternative
solutions to designers, " said Friedland.
" And once they have such
materials, Positive Plastics is a fantastic
platform to be part of. "
Filling a need
The fi rst sample kit compiled
by the Positive Plastics team has
clearly fi lled a need, said Friedland.
" Without going into details -
due to confi dentiality constraints
- we can safely say that already
the fi rst few projects and pilot
projects have got underway, "
she noted. Positive Plastics is already
working with a number of
global brands - collaborations
that can clearly be traced back
to use of the kit.
" We also are very happy to see
the kit being continuously sold
online, without any publicity
from our side. It is a great compliment
to realize the kit is used
by global design agencies, architecture
fi rms and design departments
at brands, " she said.
It has now been included in
most of the materials libraries
around the world and the leading
design academies - an impressive
accomplishment given the
vast number of kits already out
there. The material consultants
at Positive Plastics developed
the kit with the purpose of sharing
their knowledge of responsible
and alternative materials to
promote a more informed material
selection process among
designers. " The kit has achieved
this purpose, " Friedland said.
However, they have no intention
of stopping there. Since the
fi rst sample kit was launched last
October, the three partners have
focused on curating a second kit,
as well as on talking with designers
and engineers about their experiences
with the fi rst and how
it could be improved.
" We
found
of materials - PCR [post-consumer],
PIR [post-industrial],
mass-balanced,
bio-based and
bio-composite - was highly
appreciated, as well as the fact
that different suppliers were
represented. The kit contained
materials produced by global, established
manufacturers as well
as ones produced by new and
innovative manufacturers who
debuted their material in the kit, "
Friedland said.
that the variety
Neither the format nor the criteria
used for curating the materials
changed for the second kit, although
it does consist of far more
exotic materials, she added. " And
this second kit, like the fi rst, had
the more established companies
with more conservative solutions
- mass-balanced or high PCR
content - as well as new players
in the plastic fi eld. You can
fi nd a carbon-sequestered polymer,
an oyster-based polymer, a
beer-polymer, the fi rst-ever Tetra
Pak recyclate and more ... all injection
moldable and commercially
available. We were really excited
to see the results. "
What's next?
For Positive Plastics, K 2022
offers the opportunity of a soft
launch for the newest sample kit.
The sample kit
developed by
Positive Plastics.
Positive Plastics photo
Instead of a stand of their own,
the Positive Plastics team has
opted to exhibit Kit No. 2 at the
booths of the various manufacturers
whose materials are part
of the new kit.
" The kit can be found at Akro-Plastic
(Hall 6/C52), Covestro
(Hall 6/A75-1), Furukawa (Hall
7.1/B53), Mocom (Hall 6/A62),
Solvay (Hall 6/C61) and UBQ
(Hall 7.1/A44). The offi cial launch
of Positive Plastics Kit No. 2 will
be held at the Greener Manufacturing
Show, Nov. 9-10 in Cologne,
Germany, " said Friedland.
She added that, having
launched two kits in one year,
they learned a lot. For the future,
they have decided to offer a few
additional services.
" We are planning to launch the
next kit - No. 3 - at the end of
2023 and maybe have additional
industry focuses in the future:
Positive Plastics for the automotive
industry, Positive Plastics
for consumer electronics, for example.
The additional services
we would offer for manufacturers
include sample production and
testing, " she said.
The sample developed by Positive
Plastics co-founder Markus
Paloheimo and the possibilities
its design offers for the visualization
of the materials' properties
are highly appreciated by both designers
and manufacturers. Manufacturers
are welcome to have
their materials produced in the
Positive Plastics mold, even if the
material is not part of the Positive
Plastics collection, said Friedland.
" This year, we encountered a
few processing challenges with
some of the more 'exotic' materials
and realized we can offer testing
services and troubleshooting
to materials suppliers. This can
be especially benefi cial for young
companies that do not have their
own equipment, as well as for
established ones that are trying
new recipes, " Friedland said.
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Plastics News - Show Daily - October 19, 2022

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